July 1927
T h e K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
449
leaving him to follow Jesus, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” “Jehovah bringeth the counsel of the nations to naught. He maketh the thoughts of the peoples to be of no effect. The counsel of Jehovah standeth fast forever, the thoughts of His heart to all generations." Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords today ; hence, He has His hand upon the destiny of nations today as' of old. ( See Acts 17:24-28.) • “Though the mills of God grind slowly, yet they grind exceedingly small.” Abner, the commander-in-chief of the army of Ishbosheth, became estranged from his master and negotiated with David to deliver the kingdom to the lat ter. About this time two captains of his army assassinated Ishbosheth, T h i s treacherous deed, though contrary to the will of God, was woven into a fabric of providential happenings, as God always does, making the wrath of man to praise Him, and -it cleared the way for David to mount the throne according to the prom ise of God. At this point all the tribes of Israel gathered together unto David at Hebron and implored him to become prince over all Israel, assigning as’ their reasons the following facts: (1) “We are thy bone and thy flesh;" (2) “In times past when Saul was king over us, it was thou that leddest out and brought- est - in Israel and (3) God had said, “Thou shalt be shepherd of My people Israel and thou ¡shalt become prince over Israel.” At this general- assembly both king and people entered into a solemn covenant before the Lord, which concluded with David’s being anointed for the third time, the last ’being his anointing for king over all of the tribes, which service was the usual ceremony of public recog nition of a sovereign.' This government in modern political terms is what would be called a constitutional monarchy. God’s ideal form of government is that of an absolute monarch who reigns with a strong hand yet in absolute righteous ness, justice, and mercy toward all his subjects. David’s reign was one of the most illustrious in Israel’s entire history for the king was a man “who shall do all My will” (Acts 13:22}V This glorious reign, however, was marred by the ter rible heinous sin of David; otherwise it typified the glorious reign • of'“/ “great David’s greater Son.” After his first anointing he was rejected and considered an outlaw and an outcast. There were, however, 1certain oppressed and down trodden ones who gathered around him and were faithful to .him during the time of his humiliation; hence, when he came into his kingdom he gave them rest, peace and royal favor. Thus it is and will be with Him Whom he typified, the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ was despised and rejected of men and is thus consid ered today. During His rejection they, thus realizing the bondage of sin and the awfulness of spending eternity in ban ishment from God’s presence and glory, have fled to Him for refuge. When He comes in the glory of His Father and sits upon the throne of His glory, they will be given positions of honor and glory with Him. His reign will indeed be the reign of “peace, plenty and prosperity.” The era of peace will not be brought about by any peace pacts or leagues of nations, but only by Him Who is the Prince of peace. “Behold, a king shall reign in righteous ness and princes shall rule in justice” (Isa. .32:1).
As king over the whole house of Israel, David cast his eyes about for the most strategic place for a capital. God turned his heart (Prov. 21:1) toward the place where He would place His name, namely, Jerusalem, which at that time was a strong fortress in the hands of the Jebu- sites. Upon capturing the same he built new walls and fortifications. Being set tled in his kingdom and being a God-fear ing and a God-loving man, he put first, things first, namely, religion, which is the personal relationship of the soul to its Maker. Realizing, his utter dependence upon God and his duties both to his God and to his fellowman, he put “religion into his business and business' into his religion." To the intelligent Christian there is no such thing as divorcing re ligion from business or business from re ligion. “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatever ye do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31).. Tn the days o4f Eli the Ark of the Cov enant h#d been captured by the Philis tines. upon every city, of theirs to which it was brought the plague of God fell; hence, they were very glad to return it to Israel Not knowing God nor His ,law, these poor Philistines did the best they could; hence; they built a new cart drawn by cows, upon whose neck never was a yoke placed, to send it back to Israel. The plague ceased. The Ark being brought to Beth-Shemeslfcmany of the men of that place through curiosity looked within and .were smitten; hence, they immedi ately sent it to Kiriath-jearim where it was received by Abinadab, who sanctified Eleazar, his son, to keep it. Here it re mained until David with great prepara tion went thither to bring it to his cap ital. _ David and his company, like the Philistines, built a new cart upon which to place the Ark. As the joyful proces sion marched slowly onward, upon their arrival at the “threshing floor of Nacon,” one of the cows stumbled, which acci dent jolted the cart and caused the Ark to look as if it were going to fall. Uzzah puts forth his hand; the death stroke of God falls; joy and exultation turn im mediately into mourning and weeping. What can be done? With fear and trem bling David orders the Ark to be carried aside into the house of Obed-Edom where it remained for three months. During those three months David and his companions had time for meditation and heart-searching. They learned where the trouble was; their first attempt to bring the ark was contrary tn the will of God (Num. 4). Furthermore, seeing the blessings of God upon the house of Obed-Edom, he realized the blessedness of having the ark, the symbol of God’s
presence, at the national capital; hence, he ordered it to be brought to Jerusalem, but he. was very careful that all things should be done in accordance with the written Word. 'Having sought God ac cording to the ordinance, David success fully brought the ark to Jerusalem and deposited it there with great ceremonies and thanksgiving. afe’. a» David Worships God 2 Sam. 5:1-4; 6:12-15; Psa. 24. Memory Verse : “I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with my whole heart:” Psa. 86:12. Approach: Show the children a song book, and read to them the Doxology: Praise God from whom all blessings flow, Praise Him all creatures here below, Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts, Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. and forget not all his benefits.” Every good and perfect gift is from the Lord. “No good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.” To sing praise is well, but to live praise is better. Pri mary teacher. Lesson Story: There ‘is a story in the Bible about a king, a spear and a bottle of water. Who will tell us that story, and the lesson it teaches to us today? (Review.) Since our last story King Saul is dead, and David has now be come king, to rule over the people in stead of Saul. King Saul wanted to have his own way, and disobeyed God, and thus he brought trouble and sorrow to the people. Some of us remember about the Ark of. God, which was a wooden chest overlaid with gold, containing the stone tables of the Law, Aaron’s rod and the pot of manna. What was it that made this Ark of God so wonderful and such a blessing to God’s people? It was God’s presence with them, for his glory shone forth in a wonderful light above the Ark. The Ark of God had been away from God’s people for a long time, for King Saul was disobedient to God and the Ark had been carried away by the ene mies, The Ark of God brought great sorrow and trouble to the enemies of God’s people, and so they sent it back, but many years had passed by and the Ark had been neglected and forgotten by many. Many in the world today are neglecting and forgetting God. David makes plans to have the Ark brought back and placed in their midst once more. The ark was placed on a new cart drawn by oxen. This was not God’s way of moving the Ark, as he had ordered that only the priests should carry it from place to place. The cart swayed and one of the men put his hand on the Ark of God, and he fell dead. This seemed a dreadful punishment, but God would teach that He is God, and wants all who love Him to obey. Israel had grown careless and did not show proper respect for God or the Ark of God. The golden chest could not bless Teach t h e m to sing it, God’s peo ple have great cause for joy and should praise Him not only in the church, but everywhere. “T h y praise shall contin u a l 1y be in my heart,” “Bless the Lord, O my soul,
Dr. Howard A. Kelly, the famous, scientist, says in a re cent article that he. makes it a rule never to read anything ex cept the Bible after his evening meal, and adds.: “Since making this resolution God in His mercy, has shown me that this Word is an inexhaustible storehouse from which He dispenses rich stores of precious truths to His servants as He pleases, and as they are ready to receive them.”
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